Tracing the Tribe is a blog about Jewish genealogy - All the developments, tools and resources you'll need to peer more closely into your family tree. Created in 2006 at JTA's request, it is now independent.

22 March 2009

I first heard about the Cape Verde Jewish Heritage back in 2003, when Carol Castiel spoke extensively about her hopes and plans to promote this project, at that year's International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Washington, DC.

Castiel's project, which she has been trying to organize since the 1990s, includes restoration of cemeteries in the former Portuguese colony, writing the community history, descendant interviews and research.

Cape Verde includes 10 islands 300 miles from Africa's west coast. It experienced two immigration waves. The first, in the 15th century, included Conversos, escapees from the Inquisition in Spain. This community is still very secretive and thus the projects focuses on the second wave of immigrants, who came from Morocco in the mid-19th century.

The Cape Verde and Portuguese ambassadors attended the launch. B'nai B'rith helped Castiel, a Voice of America staffer, set up the project. When Castiel was stationed in Portugal she learned about the colony's Jewish history. Although there is no Jewish community today, many of its citizens of Jewish ancestry are proud of their heritage.

Also participating in the launch were Cape Verdean immigrants to the US, who descend from its Jewish immigrants.

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About Me

Schelly Talalay Dardashti has tracked her family history through Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Spain, Iran and elsewhere. A journalist, her articles on genealogy have been widely published. In addition to genealogy blogging (since 2006), she speaks at Jewish and general genealogy conferences, co-founded GenClass.com. Past president of the five-branched JFRA Israel, a Jewish genealogical association, she is a member of several professional organizations.

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